"The President and the leaders discussed their shared commitment to raise the moral imperative for immigration reform and said they will continue keeping the pressure on Congress so they can swiftly pass commonsense reform," the White House said in a statement.

According to the White House, Obama told the leaders there was "no reason for House Republicans to continue to delay action on this issue that has garnered bipartisan support."

Boehner stressed that he would not be willing to pass legislation that allowed for a conference with the Senate, from which a comprehensive bill might emerge.

“We’ve made it clear that we’re going to move on a common-sense, step-by-step approach in terms of how we deal with immigration,” Boehner said.

“The idea that we’re going to take up a 1,300-page bill that no one had ever read, which is what the Senate did, is not going to happen in the House. And frankly, I’ll make clear we have no intention of ever going to conference on the Senate bill.”

At his meeting with business executives last week, the president said he wanted to make immigration "easy" for House Republicans.

"The politics are challenging for the Speaker and others, and we want to make it as easy for him as possible," Obama said. "This is not an issue where we’re looking for a political win."

Still, the issue is politically charged, and likely one that will play a role in the upcoming midterm elections. A Basswood Research poll released Tuesday of likely voters in 20 Republican-represented swing districts found that a majority of likely voters supported comprehensive immigration reform.

Last week, labor groups — including the SEIU and AFL-CIO — announced ad campaigns in Republican districts to ramp up pressure on house members.